Content Editing Accessibility Checklist

Owned by Mariam Khalifa
Last updated: Aug 17, 2023 by Mariam Khalifa
3 min read

This is a checklist for site editors/content creators to make sure they are following accessibility best practices when authoring content in the CMS.

Images

Avoid text in images (and make sure there is alt text if any do have text). In cases where important text must be included in images, make sure the same information in conveyed in the written copy so everyone regardless of their visual acuity is able to access the information.
All images should have an alt attribute, either with alt text or blank so screen readers know it is purely decorative.
Meaningful alt text which calls out the reason that the image was included in this context (explain diagrams and graphs).
Upload high resolution images, and have the system size and crop them for different uses (banner/card/content photo). Uploading multiple versions of the same image in different sizes increases the likelihood of display and alt text mistakes that could make the image less clear to users.

Text

No underlines (since may be confused as links).
Keep things consistent (don’t apply random colors and styles to the text for emphasis).
Do not type in all-caps, because it can create issues with some screenreaders and is more difficult to read.
Use tel: and mailto: for telephone numbers and email addresses.
Do not use empty paragraphs or line breaks for spacing.

Headings

Maintain proper heading hierarchy:
Do not use Heading 1 (h1) except for the page title.
Do not skip levels. Heading 2 (h2) should be followed by Heading 3 (h3) then Heading 4 (h4). i.e., do not use Heading 4 (h4) unless you've already used Heading 3 and Heading 2 in the page.
Do not use headings just for emphasis or aesthetics.

Lists

Use the list buttons in the WYSIWYG to create html ordered and unordered lists (ol and ul tags) instead of just typing numbers and dashes, so screenreaders can properly navigate them.

Tables

Use the table button in the WYSIWYG to create html tables to show sets of data.
Tables need to have headings (th tags) at the top of all columns and ideally at the start of all rows.
Do not use tables just for layout purposes, to place things side-by-side.

Links

Colors

Video / Audio

CMS

Navigation/Menu Structure

Additional Resources